The present disclosure relates to a display device that displays messages, and to an image forming apparatus provided with such a display device.
Some display devices are designed to allow display of information (messages) arbitrarily created and prepared by users. Moreover, with respect to arbitrarily created messages, display times are often settable so that a given message is displayed at a specified time. Public information display systems are known that display messages at specified times.
One specific known example is a system that displays an advertisement message for about ten seconds starting with a specified time. This public information display system is provided with a means for receiving a message from a user across a communication network, a means for storing the received message, and a means for displaying the stored message on a display portion of a public information display device that is installed on the street or at a station to provide advertisements and guides. This eliminates the need for the person who intends to deliver the message to go to the specific place, making it possible to readily deliver the message which he intends to convey to an individual or people at large.
Various electric and electronic appliances are often equipped with a display device. For example, such display devices display screens for input of settings of, or for operation of, appliances. Some such display devices display messages indicating the condition of appliances, such as error messages and trouble codes for dealing with errors.
Some display devices display not only messages indicating the condition of appliances and the like but even arbitrary (desired) messages created by users. In such a case, a user performs operations to enter and create a note on use, a notice to other users, or the like as a message and to display it on a display device. The thus created and set notice or the like is displayed as a message in the form of an electronic sticky note on the display device.
Here, conventionally, to specify the display time of a message, it is necessary, in addition to creating the message, to set the display period of the message, that is, from when to when to display the message. This may require, in addition to creation of a message, exact setting of a display period, complicating the operations for creating and registering a message. This is inconvenient. Moreover, if a user makes a wrong setting or registration with respect to the display period of a message, the message cannot be displayed at a proper time (a mistake on the part of the creator of a message leads to failure to make an effective announcement). This too is inconvenient.
Incidentally, the known technology mentioned above is directed to advertising, and accordingly the display period of a message is extremely short. Thus, the technology cannot be applied to display of a message for a given period in the form of an electronic sticky note. Moreover, with the known technology mentioned above, only the start time of display of a message can be specified, and no display period can be set. Thus, the technology does not provide a solution to the inconveniences discussed above.